Tabulating, typewriting, or like printing machine



March 12, 1935. F, G s ENGLlsH 1,993,959

TABULATING, TYPEWRITING, OR LIKE PRINTING MACHINE March 12, 1935. F. G.s. ENGLISH TABULATING, TYPEWRITING, OR LIKE PRINTING MACHINE 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 26, 1931 March 12, 1935.

F. G, s. ENGLISH TABULATING, TYPEWRITING., ORVLIKE PRINTING MACHINEFiled Aug. 26, 191 5 sheets-sheet 3 FIG?.

lllllllllllll I4 PatentedMari 1.2, 1935 I l l v UNITED STATESIPATENTOFFICE TABULATING, TYPEWRITING, OR LIKE PRINTING MACHINE Francis GuySydenham English, Thornton Heath, England; assignor to The Accounting &Tabulating Corporation of Gt. Britain Limited, London, EnglandApplication August 26, 1931, Serial No. 559,475 In Great BritainSeptember 9, 1930 7 Claims. (Cl. 197-114) This invention relates .totabulating, typewrit- In a further feature of the invention the platening or like printing machines, in which the paper is carried by acarriagel constituted by a unit to be' printed is passed around acylindrical platen structure including the whole of the mechanism bymeans of which the paper is fed. l associated with the platen and meansfor carrying In such machines, there is provided line spaca paper roll,the unit being arranged s0 as t0 5 ing mechanism by which the platen maybe robe slidable through the tabulator whereby the tated step by step,and also space feeding mechaplaten may be so disposed in a tabulatorthat the nism for independently rotating the platen a premiddle printingu'nit may operate on either end of determined amount when it is desiredto make a the platen. ^Moreover, by making the platenl slid- ,10 quickejection of the paper. The main object of able through the .tabulator'ready access is prol0 the present invention is to provide means wherebyvided for inspection and repair purposes.

the space feeding mechanism can also be utilized Other features of theinvention will be pointed as a complementary mechanism, that is to say,out in the appended claims.

a mechanism whereby ejection of the paper may Inorder that the inventionmay be more ciearbe effected in two stages, the second stage being lyunderstood reference will now be made to the i6 complementary to thefirst, the amplitude of which' accompanying drawings, whichv show by wayof is dependent upon the amount the platen has been example, somepreferred embodiments of the-inmoved by the line spacing mechanism.vention. f

' According to the invention, a tabulating or like In the drawings:

printingmachine including a rotatable platen, Fig. -1 is a pictorialview showing the preferred 20 comprises the combination with linespacing form of unit construction of paper carriage acmechanlsm for stepby step rotation of the platen cording to the present invention; andspace feed mechanism for independently ro- Fig. 2 is a detail view withparts removed for tating the platen a predetermined amount, of clearnessshowing in elevation the mechanism means operable at will in the initialposition of producing space and complementary feeding ac- 28 the spacefeed 'mechanism for connecting the cording to the invention;

space feed mechanism. to the line space mecha- Fig.Y 3 is a plan view ofthe construction shown nism, so as to operate therewith and progresinFig. 2; sively diminish theamount the platen may be 'ro- Fig. 4 is asectional elevation showing the contated by the space feed mechanism,and means trol of the'connection of the platen to its spindle 80 forpositively locking the space feed mechanism and of the connection of theplaten to the detent to the line space mechanism when these two of thenormal feeding means hereafter referred mechanisms have been connected.to; and

' In the application of the invention to a tabulat- Fig.' 5 shows amodification hereafter referred ing printing machine, it is necessary tolock the to. f

space feed mechanism to the line space mecha- Fig.. 6 is an enlargedside elevation of'Fig. 1 nism so that operation of the space feedmechashowing moreV particularly.; the arrangement of nism with-the linespace mechanism is definitely the cam member with respect tothe pawl inthe ensured during' the fast working of the tabulator, initial position;

40 and it is a further object of the invention to pro- Fig. 7 is anelevation cut away to'show a modi- 40 vide such lock'ing means, togetherwith means fied control of the plungers vfor releasing the whereby whenthe platen has been moved by the platemand line space mechanism, thepredetermined amount Fig. 8 is a section onvthe line VIII-VIII of of thespace feed mechanism, the latter is un- Fig. '1.

v'i5 locked, restored and relocked to the line space In the drawingslikereference numerals desig- 46 mechanism before the next line spacestep. nate the same or similar parts.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide Referring now to thedrawings, the platen 1 is an improved releasing device for the platenwhere mounted on a spindle 2 supported in carriage by the platen may bereleased both from the frame members 3 connectedvby a back plate-1 andspindle and the normalspace feeding mechanism a rail 5 on which areslidablycarried -brackets 50 actuating the platen during machineoperations. 6 including bearing faces 'l which ride on the backPreferably the releasing device is provided in plate 4, the brackets 6being formed at the top combination with the manual control above reforthe reception of the paper carrying spindle ferred to whereby correctfeeding of the paper 8. which spindle is also seated in the 'members 3may be obtained with perfect alignment. of the carriage-frame. v

By such arrangement the spindle 8 and the faces 7 of the brackets 6retain the latter in position. As an alternative to mounting thebrackets 6 on a separate spindle 5 the brackets may be formed to engageover the back plate 4 and to slide thereon so that their position can bereadily adjusted.

The platen spindle 2 is provided at each end with operating knobs 9 foreffecting manual movement of the platen. To move the platen so as tofeed the paper a greater distance than that which can be obtained by thenormal feeding means or to eject the paper from the platen, the latteris providedwith a spur wheel 10 mounted on the'spindle 2 and arranged togear with a ratchet wheel 11 with which engages a pawl 12 pivoted at 13on a plate 14 rotatable about an axis member 15 carried by the framemembers 3.

Fixed to the plate 14 is a pinion 16 actuated by a rack 17 connected at18 to a handle 19 conveniently pivoted at the end of the rail member 5.The rack is retained on the pinionI by a guide plate 20 convenientlypivoted on the boss of the pinion 16.

On pulling forward the handle 19 in the direction of the arrow a(Fig. 1) the rack turns the pinion and accordingly the plate 14, therebyangularly moving the pawl 12 which if engaging the ratchet .1l similarlymoves the ratchet, imparting to ti. platen l a movement through theagency of the spur wheel l0.

On the plate 14 is pivoted at 21 an arm 22 hereafter referred to as thelocking arm, which includes a projection 23, and also there is pivotedon the plate 14 at 24 a latch member 25 including a projection 26. l

As the plate is rotated when the lever 19 is pulled down, the lockingarm and latch move with it. Thenormal `position of the parts is shown inFig. 2, that is with the locking arm 22 engaging the back of the pawl12. Accordingly, the pawl is held into the ratchet.

When, however, the arm 19 is pulled down and the plate 14 is rotated inan anti-clockwise direction, the projection 23 of the locking arm aftera predetermined movement will be brought into engagement with a stop 27conveniently carried on a register plate 28 hereafter referred to.

The engagement of the part 23 of the locking arm with the stop 27 causesthe locking arm to tilt about its axis 21 against the tension of aspring 29 disposed to normally hold the locking arm in engagementagainst the back of the pawl.

When the locking arm is rocked at the expense of extending-the'spring 29the latch 25 moves from a notch 30 on the locking arm to a second notch31 thereon, through the agency of a spring 32 holding; the locking armin this position.

In other wordsthe locking arm and latch are initially interlocked byengagement of the latch in the notch 30 of the locking arm, the latterengaging the back of the pawl 12, and upon the locking arm being rockedby being brought against the stop 27 the locking arm is retracted fromthe pawl and held in retracted position by the latch engaging'the notch31 of the locking' arm.

The pawl being free thel platev 14 may be returned to normal position.This is effected by a coil spring 33 anchored at one end conveniently toa collar A34 fixed on the axis member 15, and. at the other end to thepinion 16 which being xed to the vplate 14 causes the return of the pawl12 to yinitial position when the handle 19 is released.

As the pawl returns it rides over the ratchet,A

being a free member,`but on arriving at the initial position the latchisA brought up against an abutment 35 which causes the latch to rockvabout its pivot 24 at the expense of tensioning thespring 32 and movingthe latch out of thev notch 31, Whereon the spring 29 again becomeseffective to rock forwardly the locking arm 22 bringing it against thelback of the pawl 12 and thereby holding the latter into the teeth ofthe ratchet. In this position the locking arm 22 bearr on the pawl 12,the latch 25 being held in readi ness by the spring 32 to enterv in thenotch 31 when the locking arm 22 is rocked.

As clearly shown in Fig. 2 the pawl 12 is provided with a spring 36which tends to keep the pawl lightly in engagement with the ratchet 1l.

Thehandle 19 having been released and'the parts returned to normalposition as shown in Fig. 2 by the operation of the abutment 35 on thelatch 25, the handle is then ready for the next operation. It will benoticed that on each operation of the handle a plurality of revolutionsof the platen are obtained depending on the gearing employed` betweenthe ratchet 11 and the spur wheel 10. Y

It will be noted that when the handle is pulled down the platen isactuated, and that when the handle is released it is reset to produce asimilar movement of the platen on the next operation of the handle. As,however, when reset, the pawl is connected to the 'ratchet and theplaten is geared to the ratchet, the handle is pulled down if` theplaten is actuated from the machine.

Accordingly as the platen is actuated during the normal operations ofthe machine, the handle is pulled down towards the end of its stroke,and it is only possible to complete the stroke when actuating thehandle.

On the other hand, if there is no movement of the platen from themachine the full stroke of the handle can be obtained, in other Wordsthe operation of the handle produces a movement in the platen which iscomplementary to the movements of the platen produced by the machine.

In order to render the supplementary feeding means comprising the handle19 inoperative as regards actuation from the platen and to enable thesaid means to be utilized as an ordinary space feeding device, theabutment 35 is constituted as,

a spring pressed pin provided with a head 37 and guided in a boss 38carried conveniently on an arm 39, hereafter referred to, mounted on theaxis member 15.

If the head 37 is pulled out the abutment 35 is Withdrawn and thisretracted position may be maintained by turning the head 37 so that thepin 40 thereon engages the end of the boss 38.

When the handle 19,.with the abutment Withdrawn, is now pulled down andreleased, the locking arm and latch, subsequent to the projection 23engaging the abutment 27, remain interlocked in the second position,that is to say with the latch 25 engaging the notch 31 of the lockingarm so that the latter is held out of engagement with the pawl even whenthe initial position is reached. The pawl is then merely held by itsspring 36 on the ratchet 11. Consequently, if the arm 19 is manuallyoperated the ratchet wheel is moved and the platen may be rapidly moveda plurality of revolutions, for instance, for vthe purpose of ejectingpaper therefrom, while in order to permit of theratchet being free tomove in either direction, a cam member conveniently formed by the arm39, is provided, having a cam face 41 on to which the pawl rides whenthe initial position is reached, and only when the abutment iswithdrawn, to positively lift the pawl out of the ratchet. At this timethe ratchet can be moved in either direction, and accordingly the platencan be turned in either direction by manipulating the knobs 9.

The limit position of the parts in such circumstances may be determinedby recessing, for instance at 42, the arm 39, and providing on the pawl12 a pin 43 which engages in the recess at the end of the. stroke, andalso which conveniently forms the means whereby the pawl is rocked bythe cam.

In Fig. 6 is clearly illustrated the arrangement -of the cam, so that itis only operative when the abutment lis withdrawn. lWith the abutmentin, the cam is. prevented from lifting the pawl by reason ofthe'abutmentstopping the rearward movement of the pawl before the rise of the cambecomes operative. Thus the pawl engages in lthe teethof the ratchet asshown by the full lines." When the abutment is withdrawn, however,rearward movement of the pawl is not terminated until the cam has liftedthe same into a position just free of the teeth of the ratchet, that iswith the point Aof the pawl substantially aligned with the apex of theright hand tooth as shown in dotted lines.

Referring 'now more particularly to the arm 39 mounted on the axismember 15, thearm 39 is carried outside a plate 28 hereinbefore referredto as the register plate being formed with graduations 44 against whichis read the edge 45 of the arm 39; for example with the edge 45 of thearm 39 on the topmost graduation the pawl is in its` limit initialposition, and operation from the handle will cause the maximum rotationof the ratchet, for example 8 inches of paper, whereas if the arm isbrought to the position so that its edge 45 registers with the thirdgraduation from v the top then the paper is only moved 6 inches, the

lgraduations preferably being associated with numbers indicating themovement of the paper as indicated at 46. v

The position of thel arm 39 on the graduation corresponding to 8 inchesis assured by a stop 47 on the plate 15- (see Fig. 1) and each positionof the arm is retained by the arm being provided on the inner sidewithteeth 48 which engage with serrations 49 on the plate 28.

The arm 39 is secured in position by a set screw 50 being screwed inposition against a spring washer. 51 which is compressed only to anextent-permitting a slight rocking of the arm 39 to bring the teeth 48on said rocking arm into and lout of engagement withthe teeth 48 on theplate As shown in Fig. 1 the end of the platenl remote from the controlhandle 19 is provided with a releasing device most-.clearly shown inFig. 4, by which the platen may be released from the normal spacefeeding mechanism and from its spindle.

The feed ratchet wheel of the normal feed spacing mechanism isindicatedv at 52, this ratchet being operated in known manner from alrocking arm 53 which actuates a bell crank carrying the feed pawl of thewheel 52.

'In the construction illustrated the arm 53 is.

carried on a telescopic shaft including preferably a solid part 54 and atubular part 55, the latter being provided with an arm 56 which isrocked at each operation ci!l the machine, in a manner as shown anddescribed, for example, in British Patent No. 328,282.

By providing a telescopic arrangement the platen is actuatedirrespective of its position in the machine. y In Fig. 1 the guide railsof the machine are indicated at 57 and the rails of the carriage at 58,the bracket member indicated at 59 being also a fixed part of themachine for carrying the tubular part 55 of the shaft actuating the feedmechanism of the platen.

Connected to the ratchet 52 is a normal detent 60 with which isassociated a detent roller (not shown) which may be actuated from thelever 61 shown at the other end of the carriage and which lever isemployed to rock the ba'ck pressure rollers (only shown in the Fig. 5construction hereafter referred to) away from `the platen.

As shown in Fig.' 5 the lever 61 may be depressed over spindle 2 and thenose 61h caused to rock cam plate 61e fixed to spindle 6lb on which aremounted brackets 61e carrying the pressure rollers 6lf.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 4 which shows the platen disconnectedboth from its spin-` dle and the detent, the detent 60 is carried on asleeve extension 62 of the platen 1, and on the sleeve extension iscarried a fixed clutch member 63. This clutch'mernber is of duplicatenature having parallel rings of ,teeth indicated at 64 and 65respectively, with which engage clutch members 66 and 67 movable overguide pins 66a, 67a, respectively, these clutch members being in theform of crown wheels having pointed teeth and having one more tooth thanthe corresponding fixed clutch member so that micrometer engagement isproduced.

stance by gripping, the sets of plunger members 71 and 72 are separated,causing also a separation of the clutch members 66 and 67 from the teeth64 and 65 of the fixed clutch member.

At this time the platen being connected to the fixed clutch member isdisconnected from its spindle and also disconnected from the detent 66so that in fact it is a floating membereasily manipulated for theinsertion and adjustment Aof paper'. The segmental members may bebevelled on their under face, and the casing 70a made slidable to causeby co-operation with the bevels contraction of the segments. p

If at this time the handle 19 is also brought down to its limitposition, that is with the locking arm engaging the stop 27,y and -thenthe con- Itrol device at the other end of the platen including thesegments 70 is released, then the roller detent will be seated properlywithin the teeth of the detent and on releasing of the arm 19 the platenwill be in proper position for subsequent and correct feeding of thepaper with perfect alignment.

Further, as the teeth on the ratchetbear a direct relation to the teeth`on the detent (e. g. two teeeth on the detent equal one on the asAratchet) the actual movement of the paper to be obtained by moving thehandle 19 is determined.

As an alternative to the gripper device for actuating the sets ofplungers 71 and 72, the modication shown in Figs. 7 and 8 o'f thedrawings may be employed, wherein a pair of pivotally mounted arms 81,82 are substituted for the segments 70.

Each of the arms 81, 82 is curved about the spindle 2 Within the recessformed in the fixed clutch member 63 and is provided with a tongue 83which loosely engages in a slot 84 in the member 63, to constitute apivotal axis for the arm, the external end -of which is bent outwardlyto form a projection 85 which passes through a longitudinal slot 86 in aslidable casing 87a.

The arms 81, 82 each carry a pair of oppositely disposed plungers, onefrom each face, the arm 81 carrying the plungers 87, 88, and the arm 82the plungers 89, 90.

The plungers 88, 90 correspond to the set of plungers 71 shown in Fig. 4and engage with the clutch member 66, whilst vthe plungers 87, 89correspond to the set of plungers 72 and engage the clutch member 67.

When the clutch members are engaged under the action of the springs 68,69, the spring pressure also causes the plungers to position the arms81, 82 so that they are crossed as shown in Fig. 7, with the projection85 engaging the left-hand edges of the slot 86 in the casing 87.

To separate the clutch members and thereby release the platen, thecasing 87a is given a transf verse movement to the right, and inconsequence the arms 81 and 82 are caused to pivot about their pivotalaxes until substantially aligned, and thus effect longitudinaldisplacement of the plungers 87 to 90 and a separation ofthe clutchmembers.

To limit the transverse movement of the casing 87a a screw 91 mounted inthe clutch member 63, and riding in a slot 92 in the casing, isprovided, the screw Iabutting the left-hand of the slot to terminate themovement.

In order to facilitate actuation of the casing 87a and rotation of theplaten when released, a knurled ring 93 is provided on the casing.

When employed on a platen which is slidable though a tabulator, thearrangement according to this modiiication greatly facilitates releaseof the platen when the latter is disposed within the tabulator.

Reference will now be madeto the preferred construction shown in Fig. 5.

In this construction the pawl 12 is controlled by a single member whichfunctions as a locking arm, and a latch for the pawl.

To this end a forked lever 73 provided with arms 74 and 75 is looselymounted on a pin 76 carried by the plate 14 which also is provided withan anchor for a spring 77 attached to one end of the lever 73.

In this construction the pawl 12 is rabbetted v at 78 for co-operationwith the arm 75 of the As shown in Fig. 5, that is with the controlhandle 19 in initial position, the arm 75 engages within the rabbets ofthe pawl 12 holding it into the ratchet l1 so that when the handle 19 ispulled down, or the platen revolved by the space feed, the ratchet isrotated. l

At the bottom of the stroke the arm 74 is engaged by the stop 27 causingthe lever 73 to rock about the pivot 76 at the expense of extending thespring 77; this movement retracts the arm 7 5 from the rabbet 78 of thepawl 12 and the spring pulls the lever laterally so that the arm 75moves on to the back of the pawl 12. In other words this movement ispermitted by slotting the lever 73 at '79 so that there is some freedomof movement about the axis member 76.

The pawl being but lightly engaged at the back by the arm 75, the pawl12 is virtually free, and on release of the handle 19 is enabled to runover the ratchet 11 until the handle 19 reaches initial position.

As the handle reaches initial position the arm 75 is brought up againstthe abutment 35, the arm 75 being shaped at 80 so that the engagement ofthev abutment produces a return lateral movement of the lever 73 aboutthe axis member 76 permitting the spring 77 to return the arm 75 intothe rabbet 78, thereon the parts are again in operative position for thenext movement of the handle 19.

In this construction also, the abutment 435 may be withdrawn and thenthe pawl 12 will be held out of engagement as before by the pin 43engaging in the arm 39 so that the supplementary means may be utilizedfor space feeding.

By the arrangement shown in Fig. 5 the lever of the arm 39 may be setand then if the platen is actuated an amount equivalent to the fullmovement of the handle, the handle is automatically returned to initialposition by reason of the stop 27 actuating the lever 73 and releasingthe pawl 12 so that the ratchet is free to return under power from thespring 33 effective through the pawl 12, and if the machine continues tooperate the handle 19 will be brought forward as before until themachine stops, thereon a complementary movement of the platen is eiectedby actuating the handle 19, for example supposing it is desired to placethe paper in twelve inch lengths, the arm 39 willbe set at thegraduation 6, and if the machine moves less operations than is requiredto move the paper through 6 inches, then the arm 19 will be moved t'othe end of its stroke started by the operations of the machine, and thena second time so that the total movement of the paper will be twelveinches.

On the other hand, if the machine moves the paper more than 6 inches itwill produce a complete movement of the handle and its return, andmovement of the handle in the next stroke equivalent to the amount ofmovement produced in the machine, so that on operating the handle the"complementary movement alone will be produced.

By such an arrangement not only can a definite setting corresponding tothe registrations on the plate 28 be attained, but multiples of anysetting.

As shown in Fig. 1, there may be associated in the unit structure aplate 81,` the lower edge 82 of which forms a sighting line againstwhich the paper on the platen is brought into register when setting thepaper. The top of this plate 81 may be bevelled to form a knife againstwhich the paper may be cut off, and at the back of the plate 81 theremay be provided a Asecond plate 83 which deects the paper coming fromthe platen upwardly immediately behind the aforesaid plate 81. Theseplates conveniently are carried by the frame members 3.0i the structure.

By the present invention, a platen carriage for a' tubular may beconstructed which includes a readily controllable platen, that is aplaten on which the paper can be fed and immediately be arranged indesired register and alignment, whilst the subsequent feeding of thepaper ef- `fected on the working of the machine occurs in regularspacing intervals, whilst at the end of a sequence the paper is rapidlymoved so that the position for the commencement of the next sequence isautomatically brought quickly into position.

It will be understood that at the end of the number of items on anaccount such as an invoice or statement which is being printed, a totalwill be taken and that suitable mechanism will be provided for stoppingthe machine after the total whereby the operator can then pull down thehandle of the supplementary means to feed the paper forward an amountcomplementary to that fed by the machine so that the next account sheetis brought into proper register for printing on.

Further when headedV account sheets or forms are employed and a sheet iscompletely filled up',

the machine will be arranged to stop when the item-just prior tothefeeding of the next sheet is printed, so that the handle of thesupplementary means may be pulled down to eject the paper the amount ofthe heading.

In tabulating machines, as is well known, items or information isprinted a complete line at a time, the line printing taking place stepby step at a high speed and furthermore the size of the accounts orother matter normally dealt with is quite often of considerable length`necessitating perhaps three, four or more revolutions of the platen. Byconstructions according to the invention long accounts or forms may bereadily fed through the platen either by space feeding or complementaryfeeding, utilizing the supplementary means herein described.

Due to the fact of the high speed of working of the tabulator, it willbe appreciated that the action of the line spacing mechanism-on the sup`plementary means for complementary feeding is very much in the nature ofa quick jerk or snatch and furthermore the load imposed on the pawl ofthe supplementary means is still further increased by reason of therelatively strong spring provided for resetting the pawl when released.For these reasons it is necessary that on.the operation of thecomplementary feeding feature, thecOnnection of the line spacingmechanism to the supplementary means should be positive. To this end,thepreferredconstruction of Fig. 5 is employed, the pawl being locked tothe ratchet when line spacing of the platen is being effected in such amanner that there is no possibility of slip occurring. On the otherhand, however, this construction definitely permits of the pawl beingreleased by the action of the machine togive the multiple feedingfeature. In this connection is `will be understood that releaseresetting and relocking of the pawl occur in the interval of a linespacing step, that is before the next step, after the release of thepawl takes place.

By thesupplementary means 'being readily `adaptable either for spacefeeding or complementary feeding as desired, it 'will be seenthatinsertion, manipulation and ejection of the paper is easily performedwith the minimum of operaamount, means for engaging said pawl with saidratchet wheel as the pawl is rotated whereby said ratchetwheel is turnedfor space feeding of the platen, locking means for locking the pawl tosaid ratchet wheel, whereby the pawl is rotated as the ratchet is turnedby the platen, means for releasing said locking means when the pawl hasmoved said predetermined amount, and means for restoring saidl pawl toits normal position when released, of a retractable stop for engagingthe locking means in the initial position of the pawl to cause saidlocking means to relock said pawl to said ratchet wheel. means forholding said stop in the retracted position, whereby said locking meansis not engaged, and cam means operable in the retracted position of saidstop to disengage said pawl from said ratchet wheel as said pawl returnsto the initial position.

2. A tabulating, typewriting or like printing machinecomprisin'g thecombination with'a rotatable platen, line space ,mechanism for step bystep rotation of said platen, ofl a ratchet wheel geared to said platen,a rotatable plate, a pawl -carried by said plate for rotation Aabout theaxis spring controlled locking arm pivoted on said" plate for lockingsaid pawl to said ratchet wheel under the spring action, a stop memberdisposed to actuate said locking arm at the end of said predeterminedamount to thereby release the pawl for restoration to its initialposition, a latch member carried on saidl plate for retaining saidlocking arm in the actuated position, meansv for restoring said pawl toits initial position subsequent to said release, a retractable'stop inthe initial position of said pawl for moving said latch member out ofengagement, with the locking arm whereby the latter again locks the saidpawl to said ratchet wheel,'means for holding said stop in the retractedposition, and a cam positioned so as to be operable only when the stop4is retracted for lifting the saidpawl out of engagement with saidratchet wheel when said pawl is in the initial position.

3. A tabulating, typewriting or like printing machine, comprising thecombination with a rotatable platen, line space mechanism for step bystep rotation of said platen, a ratchet wheel geared to said platen, ofa rotatable plate, a pawl carried by said plateA and adapted forrotation about the axis of said ratchet wheel for a predeterminedamount, la latch on said pawl, a lockingmember pivoted to slide on saidrotatable plate, said locking member including a radial locking varmextending from the pivot of said member so as to engage the latch on thepawl and .positively lock the pawl to said ratchet wheel, a

from the latch to release the pawl after the rotatable plate has beenmoved the predetermined amount, spring means for causing said locking7,5

member to slide about its pivot and position said locking arm free of'the latch on said pawl when said locking arm is disengaged, means forrestoring said pawl to its initial position subsequent to said release,and means for again engaging said locking arm with said latch when saidpawl is restored.

4. A tabulating, typewriting or like printing machine, comprising thecombination 'with a rotatable platen, line space mechanism -for step bystep rotation of said platen, a ratchet wheel geared to said platen, ofa rotatable plate, a pawl carried by said plate and adapted for rotationabout the axis of said ratchet wheel for a predetermined amount, a latchon said pawl, a locking member pivoted to slide on said rotatableplate,A said locking member including a radial locking arm extendingfrom the pivot of said member so as to engage the latch on the pawl andpositively lock the pawl to said ratchet wheel, a stop member disposedto move the locking mem- -ber about its pivot so as to disengage theradial armV from the latch to release the pawl after the rotatable platehas been moved the predetermined amount, spring means for causing saidlocking member to slide about its pivot and position said locking 'armfree of the latch on said pawl when said locking arm is disengaged,means for restoring said pawl to its initial positionsub-` sequent tosaid release, and settable means for again engaging said locking armwith-said latch when said pawl is restored.-

5. In a tabulator printing machine including a rotatable platen, thecombination with line space mechanism which rotates the platen step bystep alternately with each printing operation and space feed mechanismfor independently rotating the platen a predetermined amount, of meansoperable at will in the initial position of the space feed mechanism forlocking the space feed mechanism to the line space mechanism so as tooperate therewith, and progressively diminish the amount the platen maybe moved by the space feed mechanism,and means whereby when the i platenhas been moved by the line space mechanism the said predeterminedamount, the space feed mechanism is unlocked, restored and relocked tothe'line space mechanism before the next line spacing step.

6. A tabulating,` typewriting or like printing machine, comprising thecombination with a rotatable platen, line space mechanism for step bystep rotation of the platen, a vratchet wheel geared to said platen, ofa rotatable plate, a pawl carried by said plate and adapted for rotationabout the axis of the ratchet wheel for a predetermined amount, meanstending to engage the pawl with the ratchet wheel, a'latch on said pawl,a locking member pivoted to slide on the rotatable plate, said lockingmember including a radial locking arm extending from the pivot of saidmember so as to engage the latch on the pawl and positively lock the'pawl to. the ratchet wheel, a stop member disposed to move the lockingmember about its pivot so as toA disengage the radial arm from the latchto release the pawl, after the rotatable plate has been moved thepredetermined amount, spring means for causing said locking member toslide about. its pivot'and position said locking arm free of the latchon said pawl when sai-d locking arm is disengaged, means for restoringsaid pawl to its initial position subsequent to said release, aretractable stop in the initial position of said pawl, cam means on saidlocking member adapted to engage with said stop lwhen said pawl isrestored to move said locking member so that said locking arm engageswith the latch on the said pawl, means for holding the said stop in theretracted position whereby said locking member is not moved, and a campositioned so as to be operable only when said stop is retracted forlifting said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet Wheel in theinitial position,

7. A tabulating, typewriting or like printing machine comprising incombination with a rotatable platen, line space mechanism for step bystep rotation of said platen and a ratchet Wheel geared to said platen,of a rotatable plate, a pawl carried, by said plate and adapted. forrotation about the axis of said ratchet wheel for a predeterminedlamount, a latch on the said pawl, a locking member pivoted to slide onsaid plate, said member being constituted by a forked lever having aradial locking arm extending from the` pivot of said member, so as toengage said latch on said pawl and positively lock said pawl to saidratchet wheel, a 'stop member at the end of said predetermined amountand disposed so as to engage a further arm on said member and therebymove said member about its pivot so as to disengage'said locking armfrom said latch to release said pawl, spring means for causing saidlocking member to slide about its pivot and position said locking armfreeof'the latch. on said pawl when said locking arm is disengaged,lmeans for restoring said pawl to its initial position subsequent tos'aid release, and means for engaging said locking arm with said latchwhen said pawl is restored.

FRANCIS GUY SYDENHAM ENGLISH.

